


A Storybook Love...Or Something

by Priestlyislove



Series: Hamilton Pisses Off Witches [4]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angelica could kick my ass, Cinderella - Freeform, F/F, F/M, I should probably start tagging all the characters in this, M/M, Multi, Snow White - Freeform, The cinnamon roll has low self esteem, everyone is bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-21 08:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6044680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Priestlyislove/pseuds/Priestlyislove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander is thrown into fairytale world after fairytale world. And the only way out? Find his happy ending. Easier said than done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Oh my god, I'm a prince? I'm going to be sick. I'd rather die then be an active part of a monarchy." Alexander had woken up in a place that was not his home. Not even close. Some of his friends were there, but they didn't seem to remember the real world. He had been clutching a piece of paper when he awoke, stating 'find your happily ever after.' He turned to Angelica, who had been walking alongside him. "And shouldn't you be calling me 'your majesty' or something?"

"Alexander, I've worked for your family as a knight long enough to be familiar with you. Plus, you said you hated when people called you that."

"I do. Don't start now." He sighed. "This is so weird."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "Faking madness will not get you out of this ball, Alexander. You know, you used to have fun dancing and talking to all the people. I know the pressure from your father is on, but he can wait. You know he could never actually be cross with you."

"My father. Right. My father?"

"He wants a bigger family? Really, you need to put down your books and step outside every once and a while." She patted him on the back as they reached a door. "Alright, hurry up and change. Guests will be arriving soon." She shoved him in, shutting the door behind him before he had a chance to complain.

The room had tall white walls and was surprisingly plain for a castle. On the bed a crumpled outfit lay. "You've got to be kidding me..." He grumbled but remember the paper. Maybe he just was supposed to play along. "Happily ever after...sounds like a fairytale." Was he somehow in a story? But which one?

He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out which fairytale this could possibly be. He tried questioning Angelica, but she was busy. Everyone seemed to be busy, in fact. People were rushing by and trying not to bump into him. He guessed this party was a big deal.

Before he knew it, people started arriving, and he was supposed to greet all of them. It was weird and formal and he hated it but he told himself to just play along. A girl in a sparkly red dress with a low neckline made his heart run wild. She winked at him and he wondered if she could possibly be the one he was on the look out for. Then Eliza came, looking as pretty as ever. She didn't recognize him.

But she did dance with him. He laughed away her apology the third time she stepped on his feet. "There's no need to be nervous. You're doing fine."

"I'm sorry your highness, I just haven't danced in a long time. Please excuse me," she rushed off, a blushing mess. He smiled a little. She was so cute, but getting her to fall in love with him was going to take too much time. He sighed, looking out at the sea of people. Jefferson caught his eye, but that was because he was dressed in clashing colors and spoke loudly. Madison was beside him, wearing a sickly green. "If I have to kiss Jefferson to get out of here, I think I'd rather die." No one else stuck out. He was starting to lose hope. Maybe this was pointless.

But then Laurens entered. Everyone stared at him, slowing to a stop. They couldn't look away because wow did he look good. His hair was tied in a messy bun, and he wore a dazzling blue ballgown. He looked nervous.

Suddenly, there wasn't a question in Alexander's mind about who his happily ever after was. He made his way across the floor to him. It was like everyone else disappeared. Laurens bowed, and he replicated the motion. "...wanna dance?" Laurens glanced around, like he didn't think Alexander was talking to him. He nodded. Alexander took his hand and led him to the middle of the floor.

Everyone turned back to what they were doing once they started. They danced in stiff silence. Alexander wanted to break the ice but he wasn't quite sure how. It was weird having to reintroduce himself to the people he knew like the back of his hand.

"The heels feel pretty unnecessary." He joked, but it came across rather forced. Laurens blinked. He cleared his throat was going to apologize, but then a smile spread across Laurens' face. God, what a nice smile. Alexander felt his breath catch in his chest.

"They told me you were big."

Alexander smiled back and winked. "I am where it matters."

"Ah, I see. They were talking about your ego." Laurens spun out of his grasp, spiraling through the people. He chased after him. Laurens laughed a little, brushing a stray curl behind his ear. Alexander couldn't help but stare a little.

"Don't drift away from me, I'm scared I'll lose you in the fray." He grabbed his hand, and suddenly their faces were a breath apart. Heat flushed his cheeks. Laurens looked down at the ground, smiling shyly.

"You ought to dance with someone else. These people all came here to see you."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "I don't care about them. I just want to dance with you. They can see me anytime. Tonight, I reserve myself for you and only you."

"You're very straightforward with what you want." Laurens briefly touched their noses together before getting lost in the crowd again. "I like that."

Blurs of color swished past him. The music swelled. It was like a dream. And Laurens was always just a little too far away for him to grasp. Everytime he thought he caught him, Laurens would duck back into the masses. But every moment they caught each other staring, this game of chase was made worth it. Alexander could not remember the last time he was so madly infatuated with someone like this. It did feel like a fairytale.

They found themselves outside on the balcony. Warm light and soft music spilled out into the white marble. Laurens leaned against the rail, watching the dark sky above them. "It took you long enough. I thought you had lost interest," he spoke playfully.

Alexander sneaked up behind him, smiling. "Do you ever tire of looking at the stars? I could never lose interest in you."

But he did not even get a chuckle in response. Instead, Laurens sighed. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"The truth is no one's ever looked at me like you do. I know that people like you fall in love for fun, but I have never done it before. I don't want to be heartbroken over someone who doesn't know my name."

Alexander slid his arms around him. Laurens leaned back into his touch. "Tell me your name, then. If I break your heart, then you may cut mine out. I wouldn't want to live in a world where I hurt you."

"You speak like you've met me before, good sir. But you don't know me, not really. I'm not someone worth protecting."

"Well, now you're just trying to break _my_ heart." Laurens laughed a little. They stood like that for a long time. Laurens, safe in his arms. They kept each other warm. It was so nice. The clock tower chimed a warning, midnight was only minutes away. He let the time get away from him. He decided he should kiss Laurens now and end this strange dream. But before he could speak, Laurens broke away from his hold.

"Oh my, I've stayed too long-"

"It's alright, I'm sorry for keeping you." Alexander smiled.

"I-I have to go right now."

"Of course. Just, before you go..." Alexander leaned in for a kiss, but Laurens took off.

As he ran, he shouted back politely, "It was lovely meeting you! Thanks so much for tonight!"

Alexander was stunned for a moment but quickly chased after him. "Wait, come back! You haven't even told me your name!" Well, Alexander knew his name. But that wouldn't keep him put. "Please, just one minute longer!"

This time when he lost him to the crowd, he was unable to find him again. He ran out the main door, but Laurens was gone. He ran back inside, trying to think of what to do. He spotted Angelica, surrounded by men and women alike. She was a charmer regardless of what world they were in. He rushed over. She straightened up. "What's wrong, Alexander?"

"You have to help me find this boy!" He pleaded. Angelica sighed.

"I'm telling you this as a friend; pull yourself together. There's important people to impress here and having a meltdown over one boy is not a good idea. There's plenty of other boys who'd love to dance with you."

"Angelica, no," he whined. "I need you to help me find this one boy. Please. It's very important to me."

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Thank you! He was really tall, and covered in freckles. He was wearing a blue dress that really brought out his eyes-"

"Alexander. We've been over this. There's helpful details, and then details that are not helpful." She spoke strictly, but he could see her trying to hide her smile.

"Right. He's got curly hair and his name is John and he just up and ran away. I think he's already gone."

She nodded and headed out. He followed her. The adrenaline of the night was wearing off. She swept the area, but all they managed to find was a glass shoe. "He outran you in these?"

"Well he had a bit of a head start considering I wasn't expecting to be ditched." He crossed his arms, but the emotion was drained from his voice. He couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Oh, Alexander..." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't give up hope just yet. I can try to track him." She hurried down the stairs and spoke to the guard. They exchanged words and she motioned for Alexander to follow as she ran off down the road.

"Angelica, you are the best!" He breathed.

"I know." She smiled. "Samuel said that he saw the boy who lost his shoe go this way. He was traveling by carriage but he couldn't have gotten far, he said there were two other men with him and things seemed to be a bit of a mess." Not too far down the road, there was a smashed pumpkin. Alexander began to put two and two together.

A mouse ran up to them, apparently fearless of being stepped on. Angelica went to shoo it away, but Alexander stopped her. "Hang on. We've got to follow it. It'll take us to him." Angelica raised an eyebrow. "Look, it's hard to explain, but John isn't actually a prince, he's a peasant. His father is a jerk to him and makes him like clean and stuff but he has a fairy godmother-holy shit I hope it's Burr-who gave him a nice dress and carriage and turned his mice bffs into people. But it only lasted until midnight, right? So that's why he ran off. But then I give him back his shoe and we get married, happily ever after, bam! I'm free. Also someone might cut off their heels."

"...So you weren't faking it earlier, you really _are_ crazy."

"The only crazy I am is crazy in love. Lead the way, little fella." The mouse scurried off and he followed. Angelica didn't chase after him, instead, she hurried back to the palace. If the prince had lost his mind, there were people who needed to be informed.

It led him to Laurens, leaning on a tree and wheezing. His dress had been replaced with normal dirty clothes. A mouse at his feet squeaked at him and he responded, "I know, Laf, I've got to get home. It's just a far run, let me catch my breath. We should've left sooner."

"You talk to mice?" Laurens jumped a little and turned to face him.

"Oh my gosh, did you follow me?"

Alexander nodded. "What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to let me go. Tonight was the best night of my life, but it was just for tonight. I'm...I'm not actually royalty. I just wanted to have fun, I didn't mean to cause you this much trouble. I'm sorry."

"I already knew all that. I don't care." He knelt down, gently slipping the slipper back onto his foot. His clothes transformed back into the ballgown.

Laurens was shocked. "How did you do that?"

"I read it in a book once." He smiled to himself and stood up, taking Laurens' hand. "Now, John, I think you owe me a kiss."

"How did you know my name?" He moved closer. 

"Because, John Laurens, I have loved you for a thousand lifetimes." Their lips touched and he let his eyes flutter close. When he opened them again, he was in bed.

"And we lived happily ever after," he murmured to himself, still smiling a little.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alexander?" Madison entered the room. Alexander looked up in confusion. Either it didn't work or Madison had finally snapped and broken into his house. He groaned and threw his head back down. It was most likely the first thing. Was he in a different story now? "Come on, let's go for a walk."

They went out into the forest. Alexander decided to just play along again. He tried to start a conversation, but Madison responded curtly and refused to look at him. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and watched the ground instead. He spotted movement.

"Look, a turtle," He crouched down and picked it up. He smiled. "John is probably in these woods right now finding turtles. I'm going to give this one to him."

"...I can't do it." He turned and saw Madison clutching a knife.

Alexander stumbled back and laughed nervously. "I know we don't get along great, but let's use our words and try to figure this out. There's no need for violence."

Madison didn't seem to hear him. He threw the knife to the side. "Alexander, you can't go home. He wanted me to take you out here and kill you."

This was already a lot more intense than the Cinderella incident. "Was it my father...?" He really needed to figure out who this guy was.

Madison turned away. "No, you know he'd never hurt you. It was your step father. I'll tell him I've killed you, but you can never return. He will not stop until you are out of the picture."

"This is really dark..." He furrowed his brow. "I'll go. Thanks for not murdering me, I guess." Madison nodded a little. Alexander grabbed his turtle and ran, not sure where he was going but hoping for the best. Madison sighed, glancing back at the castle wearily.

Jefferson, as unfortunate as it was to admit, was a powerful sorcerer. He would figure out he was alive one way or another, but Madison could at least try and buy him time.

"So?" Jefferson stared down at him. "Is it done?"

"Yes, your liege. I have killed the child." He couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice.

"He wasn't a child. He was a threat. Chin up, we've nearly won." James refused to look at him. Thomas rolled his eyes and turned to the large mirror adorning the wall. "Honestly James, your reluctance would be worrying if I didn't like you so much." He knocked in the mirror but nothing happened. "I know you're listening, just come out." There was no response. He sighed dramatically and picked up a knife, slicing into his wrist. He held out his bleeding arm and muttered halfheartedly, " _magic mirror on the wall, for once just answer my fucking call._ "

Aaron's form shimmered into view on the mirror. He looked unamused. "Maybe if you had learned to do the ritual right the first time we wouldn't have to go through this every time you need something. Speaking of which, I don't exist just to help your petty revenge plans."

Jefferson snorted. "If you really had so much important work, I'd imagine you'd spend less time listening in on my conversations." A smug grin grew on his face. "Anyway, my revenge is over. See for yourself."

Aaron sighed and his eyes flashed white. A ghost of a smile found it's way onto his lips. "It looks to me like you've been misled."

"What?" Jefferson froze.

Burr disappeared and was replaced with an image of Alexander with his turtle in the woods. Burr flickered back on. "Alexander is still alive."

Jefferson was stunned silent. "...James." He spoke slowly. "Why did you lie to me?"

Madison clenched his hands into fists, not backing down. "He didn't deserve to be killed. You want him out of your way, and now he'll never come back. You still got what you want."

"You disobeyed me. Do you forget your place?" Jefferson hissed. He turned to face him but Madison did not falter.

"I'm not here to help you hurt people, Thomas. Don't blame me because you crossed a line."

Jefferson grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You knew what you were signing up for. We were going to do whatever it took to take power. Now this time, tell me the truth." He kissed him, and as he did memories flowed into his mind. He broke away from Madison, who pulled away and left. He slammed the door behind him and Thomas rolled his eyes.

“Fine, go! You’ll be back. Now, let’s see, anything useful…” He played the morning’s events in his mind. A thin smile spread across his face as he began to formulate a plan. “Alexander never mentioned a John around me…surely that’s a point of interest.” He turned back to Aaron. “I will still have my revenge and you’ll eat your words. It’ll just be a little longer than I anticipated.”

Aaron couldn’t hide the amusement he was feeling. “I guess we’ll just have to see then.”

Meanwhile, Alexander was totally lost. He had expected a path to show up and lead him back on track, but this had just been wishful thinking. He began to think about turning back when he found himself at a cottage. He went over and knocked on the door.

“Hello? I’m lost, can you please help me?” There was no response. _Great_. He glanced around. No one in sight. He glanced at the door again. If it was abandoned, he could use it as a place to stay the night. Besides, no people would be living out in the middle of the woods like this anyway.

He entered. The place was empty. There definitely wasn’t anyone living in this mess. Everything was covered in dust. He came across three beds. “Is this Goldilocks? There’s no romance in that one, it can’t be it.” He got into the bed, grumbling, “it better not be. I already was almost killed, I don’t need to run into bears too.” Sleeping in the bed went against his better judgement, but he had a feeling it was the only way to make the story progress. And if nothing happened, he could continue on looking for Laurens. He set down the turtle and closed his eyes.

He woke up to the sound of low voices. He sat up, still half asleep. “What…?” A punch to the stomach woke him up fully. He fell back with a groan. “Jesus…”

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t apologize, he had it coming.” He knew those voices. He struggled back up into a sitting position and saw the Schuyler sisters. Eliza looked at him with sympathy and he could assume she was his attacker. She always did have a strong arm. Angelica gave him a disgusted look. “So what are you? A thief, a pervert, or a murderer?”

“How about none of the above. I was on the run from my step father who tried to have me killed. Royalty is messed up stuff. I didn’t think anyone lived here. How _do_ you live here? It’s so messy.”

Angelica crossed her arms. “We don’t have time to clean, we have important things to do. Anyway, we’ll be asking the questions.”

“Do we believe him? He doesn’t look like a murderer.” Peggy piped up.

“They never do.” Angelica shook her head. “We have no reason to trust him.”

“He’d at least have tried to hide if he was. And if he was a thief, he wouldn't have slept here.” Eliza reasoned. “No one comes to these woods. We’ve never seen any thieves or killers or perverts pass through. I...I think we should believe his story.”

Angelica cupped her face. "Eliza..." Eliza looked determined and she sighed. “I don’t want either of you to get hurt, that's all.” She glared daggers at Alexander over her shoulder. “If you so much as touch my sisters, I will personally murder you.”

He nodded. “I believe you, don’t worry. You won’t regret this.” He stood up. "I'm going to straighten up a bit, but I'll tell you the whole story while I'm at it. If you don't mind. You guys just really shouldn't be living like this."

He cleaned up and explained himself. Well, he explained everything he had gathered from the story and just sort of made up the rest. But he could hardly tell them the truth when the truth was so absurd, and while Angelica was just waiting for an excuse to murder him. Luckily, they believed him. They introduced themselves to him as well.

"I'm a little impressed." Angelica admitted when he was done. "I didn't think we'd ever see this floor again. And you say you're royalty? Why would a prince ever need to learn to clean like this?"

"Uh, my step father hates me. He makes me do all sorts of work." Now this was just sounding like Cinderella again. "I don't mind that much. It makes me feel productive when I'm not getting anything else done."

"Alright." She smiled a little. "You're weird, but you're not that bad. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like. I'm afraid we have to head out again. We'll be back before dark. Don't steal anything or you're a dead man." She nodded to her sisters. They picked up pick axes and headed out, waving goodbye to him. He waved back, watching them until they had disappeared in the trees.

"This is getting weirder and weirder." He said to himself. "Well, better find where that turtle went off to..." 

As he searched, he was interrupted by a knock at the window. Not the door, but the window. That seemed weird. Alexander cautiously stepped closer to it. "...hello?"

"Alexander?" He recognized the voice right away and quickly opened the shutters. Outside stood Lafayette, who smiled at him. "I thought you might be here."

Alexander couldn't help but grin back. Finally a face he could trust. "It's nice to see you man! What's going on?"

"I just wanted to stop by, see how you were doing. And to say a little birdie told me you were looking for John."

Alexander laughed a little. This was going to be easier than he thought. "Of course, you guys are friends no matter where we are. Will you take me to go see him?"

Lafayette froze but quickly regain his composure. "The truth is, no one really knows where he is right now..." Okay. Not as easy as he hoped. "But, I have something that might help." He reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, holding it out for him. "If you eat this enchanted fruit, you'll be able to find anything you're looking for. It should work for finding people too. I would've just eaten it, but the wizard I purchased it from had very specific rules. You know how magic is."

Alexander took it gratefully. "Thanks. Don't worry, I'll do whatever it takes to find him. It'll be nice to have magic on my side for once." He took a bite out of but instantly felt dizzy. "Huh..." He mumbled as he fell to his knees. He looked up at Lafayette, who was practically cackling. He pulled his hair out of it's ponytail and smoke surrounded him briefly, disappearing to reveal he was actually Jefferson.

"You're really not as clever as your father makes you out to be. You managed to scare off James, I was expecting more of a fight. Oh well. At least you're out of my way."

He would've responded, but his mouth felt like it was full of cotton. His vision disappeared and collapsed fully. His consciousness faded.

When the sisters returned, they found Alexander face down on the floor. Eliza rushed to him. She knelt beside him and checked him over. She cupped a hand over her mouth. "I...h-he's not breathing."

Angelica and Peggy hurried over. Eliza hugged Angelica, tears already welling in her eyes. Peggy took his hand, tracing her finger over his veins. "He's...he's not dead," she spoke slowly. Eliza sniffed and looked over. "It's magic, I can feel it. I'm not far enough into my training to fix it. Yet. I'll figure it out."

Angelica pulled her into the hug. "Thank you Peggy. Do what you can." She looked back at Alexander and bit her lip. "Let's get him off the floor. Until we have a solution, we can at least do that much."

Fortunately, a solution was a lot closer than they could imagine. John Laurens had been on a hunting trip with some of his friends when he got lost. As it was getting dark he noticed the light from their cabin and headed over. "It must be my lucky day." He hopped off his horse and gave it a pet as he used his free hand to knock on the door. "Hello? Is anyone there? I just need directions."

Eliza opened the door. "Our second stranger today. Come on in, you must be cold."

John smiled at her, waving off her invitation. "Oh, no. I'm fine, I need to be on my way. I just seem to be a bit lost. Do you know-"

"Eliza! Come help me with this, please!" A voice inside shouted.

"Just a moment, good sir," she turned and hurried back inside. Curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help but peer into the home. There was talking in a room he could not see, but what he _did_ see caught his eye. He stepped inside despite himself. A boy lay with his hands folded in his lap. His lips were slightly parted. He was surrounded in flowers, as though in preparation for a spell. Was that girl who let him in a witch? He sat beside the boy, too intrigued to turn back now. This close, Laurens could see he was quite handsome. Laurens swallowed hard, his heart skipping a beat. What was he doing? He didn't know. But it felt right.

He slowly leaned down, his eyes fluttering close. He kissed him gently. A small gasp met him in response. He opened his eyes to see the boy staring back at him in a bit of a daze.

"I knew you would come," he spoke sleepily. "Hold on..." He leaned over the bed, sitting back up with a turtle in his hands. Laurens blinked. The past few minutes had quite possibly been the strangest in his life. "I got this little guy for you."

He laughed a little. "However could you have known I love turtles?"

"The same way you knew to kiss me." He whispered playfully.

Laurens had never found himself so entranced. There was so much mystery surrounding this beautiful stranger. He needed to know him. "Please, what is your name? Who are you?" 

"Oh, John Laurens, you know me. You have always known me."

At this, they kissed once more. And Alexander woke up. His face warm and his location unknown but somehow he knew everything was going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Panic sets in pretty fast when you realize you're underwater. Alexander sat up, but was unable to move his legs. He glanced down and froze at the sight before letting out a cautious breath. He didn't die. Okay. So he was a mermaid.

He ran a hesitant hand over the red scales. It made him shiver. "I'm a fish man," he whispered to himself. "Fantastic. At least I know this is the Little Mermaid."

"Alexander!" He jumped a little at the sound.

"I'll be right there!" He shouted back. He slowly tested his tail. It was pretty easy to use, but it felt weird. He swam towards the source of the voice until he found Aaron and Angelica. They both had their lower halves replaced with tails too. He opened his mouth to ask questions but decided against it.

"Alexander, will you please tell Aaron that's _my_ mirror?" Angelica said, glaring at Aaron who shrugged unapologetically.

"It has my initial."

"All our names start with A!" She spoke exasperatedly. But Alexander's mind was elsewhere.

"Do you know where our father is? I need to talk to him about something." He needed to see him. He didn't let himself even imagine who it could be. He didn't let himself even consider the possibility that it was _him_. Angelica nodded and pointed left.

"Thanks."

His heart raced as he went that way. He was being to doubt if he even wanted to see. Maybe there wouldn't even be anyone there. Maybe he should just turn back, find Laurens. This wasn't important, he tried to tell himself. But it was important to him. He needed to know. He turned the corner and his blood ran cold.   
Washington.

"Son? What's wrong?"

Alexander wasn't sure what he was feeling but it turned to anger. It always turned to anger. "Not you. That's not fair!" He yelled. "Th-that's just messed up, that's not right!" He turned and swam away quickly.

"Alexander, wait!" But he didn't stop.

He kept going for as long as he could on raw fury. That wore away into regular sadness and he sank to the sand. "I'm so stupid," he groaned. "Did I really let myself believe it would be my dad? Of course it wouldn't be him. He didn't want any part of me in the real world, why would he be here?"

He made himself get back up. "I should go apologize and get back to what I'm supposed to be doing." He took in his surroundings, trying to figure out where he had come from, when he noticed a boat overhead. "There's no way that's..." At this point he had realized that as improbable as it was, these worlds kept drawing him and Laurens together. It was like fate was on their side.

He tried to swim up to the surface, but a chunk of ship came crashing down. So maybe fate _wasn't_ on their side. He narrowly avoided it, but more wreckage was falling. Amongst the debris was Laurens, unconsciously drifting to the sea floor. Alexander hurried over and grabbed him in a hug, bringing him up to the surface. Alexander quickly learned, however, he could not breath out of the water. Things could never be simple for them. He ducked back down and took a deep breath, rejoining Laurens above the ocean. He propelled them over to a nearby beach, heaving Laurens down on the sand and submerging back under water.

He let out a sigh of relief. That had been harder that he thought it'd be. Then he realized he set Laurens down too close to the water and that the tide could pull him back in, so he took another deep breath and dragged them both farther inland. He was hoping to just kiss him then and get it over with, but he couldn't hold his breath much longer so he dragged himself back into the water.

"I've got to become a human," he sighed. "I can't kiss him with a mouthful of water." That meant he was going to have to find the sea witch. He had a pretty good idea who that was going to be.

A couple wrong turns later and it turned out he was wrong in assuming it was going to be Jefferson again. Waiting for him in the cave was the ever-mesmerizing Maria Reynolds. She took him gently by the arm but her blood red nails dug into his skin. Her bottom half was replaced with slender black tentacles that moved around her like a ballgown. "Alexander, I've been waiting for you."

"Have you?" he responded, trying to come off as natural but his nervousness seeping through.

"I know what you want," she purred, running her other hand against his face. "More than anything." He could only vocalize a strained "mh" in response. She smiled, biting her lip. "Mhm. And I can give it to you." She turned away from him, plucking a seashell off a shelf. She rolled it around in her hand as she spoke, "Let’s get right down to business then. I'll make you human for a day. If you don't a kiss by then from Mr. Right, you turn into sea foam."

"Only a day? That seems unfair," he managed to speak up.

"There's a lot of magic that goes into this, you know. Until the spell is sealed its very unstable. The kiss is the final ingredient to make you human. Without it, the spell is unfinished. And you, my little tropical fish, can't deal with that much raw power inside you."

He nodded. He would just have to make use of the time he had. "Also, I'm not a charity. I need payment. And you seem to use that voice of yours an awful lot." She nodded to herself. "I want it."

"You can't have my voice, I need it!" He said defensively.

She smirked. "I've been told 'true love always finds a way.' You'll have to trust in your Prince Charming, or the deal's off."

There was no other way, he knew that. He nodded and held out his hand. "Okay, deal." She took his hand and kissed him. It was surprising, but not bad. She pulled away and handed him the shell, a little string wrapped around it.

"When you're ready to transform, just put this on. Good luck."

He tried to thank her, but no words came out. He swallowed and nodded, taking the shell and swimming off. He could do this. He hoped.

Once back at the beach where he dropped off Laurens he tied the shell around his neck. The transform was instantaneous, one second he had a tail and the next he had legs. At least the spell gave him clothes too. He pulled himself out of the water, gasping for breath. He rose up on shaking legs. Great, now walking felt weird. He stumbled forward, trying to get his bearings.

"Hey mister! You okay?" He glanced over to see Laurens. Well, he found him, now all he had to do was get him to fall in love. _Easy_.

He smiled and nodded, but Laurens came and put an arm around his shoulder. "You look like you're going to fall over. Let me help you back to your place." He leaned against him and they started to walk. "You look familiar, but I don't know where I might've seen you before. What's your name?" Alexander pointed at his mouth and shrugged helplessly. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know." Alexander waved it off. "Here, I'll take you to my home, and you can write down your name for me." They reached a rowboat at the side of the river, and Laurens led him over. "Come on, we have to go downstream to get back to the village."

They pushed the boat into the water and climbed in. Alexander reached for the oars but Laurens grabbed them first. He flashed him a grin. "Allow me. Unless you want to hold hands and do it together." Alexander blushed and looked away. He had nearly forgotten how much of a flirt Laurens was. Laurens didn't seem to notice his reaction and started rowing.

They sat in comfortable quiet for a few moments, before Laurens finally spoke up, "My name's John. I don't think I can wait until we get back to learn your name, so is it okay if I guess? You could just nod or shake your head." Alexander nodded. "Okay...does it start with a N? No? Hmm...a T maybe? No? No, no, you must be an A, right? Ha! Knew it. Hmm, I've got to get a good look at you.." He squinted and moved his face inches from Alexander's, smiling wide. He dramatically inspected him. "Adam. No, definitely Andrew. Not Andrew, okay. Um, Alex. Alex?" Alexander nodded, smiling a little. "Alex," he repeated. "I like it. It suits you."

They both only then seemed to realize how close their faces were. Alexander could count the freckles that dusted his face. Laurens didn't pull away, instead he looked up at him. His eyes asked for permission and Alexander's said go for it. Their lips became a breath apart as Laurens closed the gap between them.

And with that, the boat flipped over.

Alexander quickly resurfaced and scanned the area for John, worried that the events from earlier were about to repeat themselves. But John’s head popped up above the water as he burst out laughing. Alexander smiled and went to swim over to him, but his legs started tingling. He touched his neck and realized the necklace must've fallen off when he fell in. His tail was back. _Great. Just fantastic._

At least he was still able to breath air. He guess that was supposed to serve as a reminder he was still contractually human. Laurens was making his way over to him so he backed away. Laurens cocked an eyebrow. “What's wrong?” Alexander shook his head quickly. “Hey, don't freak out. The boat tips over all the time, it's okay. Are you…?”

Laurens stopped advancing but reached for his hand. He clasped it gently. “You don't have to be scared, Alex. Whatever it is, it's okay. I'll understand.”

Alexander took a deep breath and sighed. He was just going to have to trust in Laurens. He moved closer and pointed to his tail. Laurens saw it and his eyes widened. “Woah...okay, maybe I don't understand. But if anything, I guess that just makes you more interesting.” And he flashed him that dorky smile he reserved for his closest friends. “Now then...shall we get back to what we were up to before the waves interrupted us?”

Alexander nodded enthusiastically and they kissed. For the fourth time that day, Alexander felt his legs change, but he couldn't be bothered with that when he was mid-kiss with John.

He got to have a first kiss with Laurens three times now. Maybe this curse wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
